NEWPORT NEWS -- Somehow you just knew it would come to this.
An 18-game regular season wasn't enough for Hampton High and Bethel to decide the Peninsula District boys basketball title outright. They needed to play one more, and with overtime no less.
So it was that Friday night's game came to be a one-game playoff to decide the district's regular-season champion and determine the top seed of its tournament.
And for the second consecutive night, Bethel needed a big shot from guard Vernon Davis and got it.
Davis' 3-pointer with one second remaining in overtime gave the Bruins a 67-64 victory against Hampton and also wrapped up an automatic berth to the Eastern Region tournament.
It was Davis' only shot of the game, but none was bigger. Bethel beat the Crabbers for the fourth time this season, and two of the games were on buzzer-beaters. It's Bethel's second consecutive championship and third in school history.
The Crabbers nearly forced a second overtime, when, with 6.7 seconds remaining, forward Terrance Bryant tied the score at 64 on two free throws.
Bruins forward Jimmy Williams took over from there, racing down the court and hoping to draw the foul under the basket. Instead, he saw an open Davis on the right wing, and he promptly drained the shot.
Pandemonium took over. Fans screamed and stormed the court at Heritage -- also the district tournament site -- as the Bruins mobbed Davis.
"I felt my heart palpitate," Bethel coach Craig Brehon said. "I'm so spent. I'm tickled to death, but I'm so spent, it probably won't hit me until I get home."
The Bruins trailed 29-25 at halftime.
The Crabbers led 45-35 in the third quarter before things began to go sour in the fourth. Bethel embarked on a 12-2 run and knotted the score at 47 on a layup and free throw by Devin Hawes.
With 5:12 remaining in regulation, Hampton was assessed a technical foul coming out of a timeout, when six players came onto the court.
Davis made both free throws to put Bethel ahead 51-47. After Crabbers forward Deon Tynes fouled out, Hampton tied it again, 55-55, on a jumper by Reginald Bell, and it was 56-all after four quarters.
The Bruins (19-3 overall, 16-3) will next face No. 8 Phoebus at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the district tournament. Hampton (17-5, 15-4) will play No. 7 Warwick at 6 p.m.
"They'll bounce back and be ready to go Tuesday," Crabbers coach Walter Brower said. "We'll bounce back; we're still co-champions."
Williams scored a game-high 27 points, and Gary Smith Jr. led Hampton with 17.
Because the regular season officially ended Thursday, Friday night's playoff was well-attended by the district's other coaches and players, boys and girls alike. More than 1,500 spectators filled the stands to witness the fourth meeting of the two teams.
BETHEL 67, HAMPTON 64, OT
BETHEL (19-3, 16-3):Sumpter 18, Davis 5, Williams 27, Ellis 2, Hawes 13, Hambrick 2. Totals 25 14-22 67.
HAMPTON (17-5, 15-4): Hardy 12, Tynes 5, Tyler 5, Bell 16, Smith 17, Bryant 9. Totals 23 13-15 64.
Bethel 12 13 15 16 11 –67
Hampton 13 16 16 11 8—64
3-point goals -- Bethel 2 (Davis 1, Sumpter 1) Hampton 5 (Smith 3, Tyler 1, Bell 1). Total fouls --Bethel 14, Hampton 16. Fouled out: --Tynes.
Technical -- Hampton bench.
Bethel won the Peninsula District Title with 67-64 victory over Hampton.